News & Events

Penn State DuBois Offers Course Aimed Toward Innovation

9/25/2008 —

DUBOIS – The Department of Continuing Education at Penn State DuBois wants leaders in local industry to learn from example. That’s the basis of the course, Structuring for Innovationa Deliberate Creative Process for TechnicalInnovation, which will be offered in October. Course Developers say engineering principles presented in the course have been developed by researching more than a million patents that have employed innovative solutions to problems in various industries.

Those who attend will have an opportunity to gain an understanding of how to reduce costs, increase profitability, and develop new products to expand their market. Based on the popular Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), plans solve real business challenges are developed. A follow-up web-based or phone consultation will allow you to work with an expert to clarify a technological problem and apply the process to your own work environment.

The TRIZ method is a powerful business tool for enhancing innovation and problem solving,” said Assistant Director of Continuing Education, John Blasdell. “It is a structured scientific process that is utilized to generate more solutions of a higher quality, in less time. Many fortune 500 companies embrace TRIZ for this reason.”

Rates for the course have also been discounted, thanks to state funding recently secured by Blasdell and others who have helped to establish a Keystone Innovation Zone in Clearfield, Jefferson and Elk Counties. Please contact the Continuing Education office at 375-4715 for questions or to register.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this program to organizations in our area at a substantially reduced rate, due to our affiliation with the Tri-County KIZ,” said Blasdell.

The fee is $99, and includes five hours of post-program consultation online or via phone.

The class is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday, October 27, and Tuesday, October 28 at Penn State DuBois.

Penn State DuBois is committed to making its websites accessible to all users, and welcomes comments or suggestions on access improvements. Please send comments or suggestions on accessibility to DuBois Campus Web Master.